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Impacting Premonitions
++ Training Facilities ++ Located in the basement beneath the grand hall, the Training Facilities are a series of large pyramidal structures at the base of each of the Decagon's ten main towers. Internally shielded, reinforced and designed to handle all but the most eggregious displays of power and force by those inside them, the ten training rooms make use of holomatter emitters to similate any combatant, obstacle or environment. Training gear allows participants to feel similated damage and injury without need for massive repairs, and without a threat to their lives. Smaller practice and interview rooms, as well as lecture halls flank either side of the rectangular hallways between training room entrances, where instructors can assess and train students under their command. Everything here is flat brushed steel, moderately lit, floors painted with room numbers and guides towards various training stations. Contents: Impactor Exits: O Hall Impactor was at an arming station, picking up a pair of Inferno missiles and sliding them into the new launchers that had been embedded into his chest plate. Once the maglocks were in place, the chestplate closed. He was going over a set of melee equipment that was laid out across a table. All kinds of energo-swords, axes, knives and more was there. In the background, there were the sounds of tumbling combatants going hand to hand, the gunshots of the ranges of both static and moving targets and some demolition explosions. Impactor hovered his hand above a variety of equipment, but decided on one specific piece that he felt most comfortable with - A pickaxe. He picked it up and the handle felt comfortable in his grasp. With a thought that interfaced through his palm into the handle, the pickaxe came to life and crackling orange energy spiked forth from the end of the handle into the form of the pickaxe - a remnant from his days as a miner, some 40,000 years ago. Impactor's arrival to the Decagon and the Autobot faction has been quite a shock for Whirl. The first time he ever met the guy was in prison, where Impactor beat the absolute crap out of him and nearly killed him. That was a pretty traumatic experience but Whirl eventually got over it. Then thousands and thousands of years later, he steps outside his room and who does he see? Impactor. The whole situation is pretty stressful, so Whirl has come to the training facilities in an attempt to blow off some steam in a legal, Autobot-approved fashion. As he walks through who does he see? Impactor. Again. Whirl tries to walk past undetected. "Hey there, Whirl, haven't seen you in a while." A familiar, chipper tone speaks up behind Whirl after he enters the training room, just loud enough to be heard by others. And of course it's Torque, brimming with that winning smile and carrying a suspicious looking case in hand. "'Scuse me, though. Got a bit of business to attend to." Amber optics shift their focus onto a particular ex-miner checking out the weapon rack. That must be him.. "Impactor, right?" The femme leaves the copter to approach the much larger mech, though there's no apparent hesitation or fear as she does. Rather, she just holds her usual smirk and remains pleasant. "Wheeljack told me I'd find yah here. Came over to deliver this." Setting the case in her hand, she opens it to reveal the sidearm pistol that the scientist promised. "Where the scrap do you think you're going?" came the Benedict Cumberbatch voice of Impactor as he could just /feel/ Whirl walking behind him. The sheer sound of the mech's clickety gangly feet on the floor was more than enough. "Get over here. Time for weapons inspection. Show me what you got, you slaghound." Impactor's shoulder cannon had been interfaced with his chassis by now. He had spent all day in the armory getting equipped and reformatted for his transformation sequence to include it as his main gun. Impactor holds the pickaxe up to his face a moment, the red energy weapon lighting up his features before he shuts it off and slaps the handle to his side where it magnetically connects. He looks down at the femme as she calls for him and he says, "Yeah. That's me." The smirking little piece held out the case and revealed its contents, which sent a warm little jolt into Impactor's laser core. "Well, strike me stupid and shut me down, this is a pretty little thing," he said. Was he talking about Torque or the handgun? Hard to tell. He reached for the weapon in the case and he held it up in his right hand. The accompanying holster was also taken up in his left and he held the weapon out, aiming down its sights. "Well-balanced. You give Wheeljack my thanks and tell him he's just become my go-to mech for gunsmithing," he told Torque. Setting the weapon into the holster, he reached into his subspace pocket for a shanix chit and handed it over to her, "My rainy-day savings. Deliver that to the man next you see him." Torque isn't quite sure which one he's talking about either, and she's about to comment, but he interrupts her by handing her a shanix chit. "Huh, I didn't know Jack was takin' paid commissions now.. But sure thing, I'll make sure he gets it." She flicks the chit into the air before catching it again and subspacing it. Afterwards she looks between him and Whirl, raising a brow. They know either other..? She wants to ask, but something else is gnawing at the back of her mind. Optics glance back up to Impactor and thumbs her chin. "Your name sounds real familiar, by the way... Coulda sworn I heard some of the miners mentioning you before all this Decepticon business started." Perhaps from the bar fight? That's a voice Whirl hasn't heard in a hot minute. The mech spins around to face Torque, making no effort to hide the long up-and-down look he gives her. "Yeahhh, I've been.. busy and stuff." It's vague but also entirely accurate. When she leaves, Whirl's optic follows her with a lingering stare. Damn, Wheeljack is a lucky mech. The cyclops then attempts to sneak past Impactor but fails miserably when the mech calls him out. With an exasperated sigh, Whirl begrudingly approaches. "Do we really have to do this? I'm gonna feel inadequate next to all that ridiculous scrap you've outfitted yourself with." Impactor glanced down to Torque a moment, gauging her. He lifted his leg, planting his foot against the side of the arming table and he took up a power-wrench and bolted the holster onto his lower leg with drilling-bolts. He fingered the weapon again to make sure it felt good and easy to draw before he locked it into place in the holster. Finally he lowered his leg and decided to reply, "I was Megatron's partner in the mines. Stood up for Rung when a pair of cadets threw him across our table. I scrapped one of the cadets, tore his legs off, tossed them in the grinder. It landed me 20,000 in Garrus-1. Megatron was a pacifist back then. Just stood back and watched me get thrown in the slammer." Impactor hooked a thumb in Whirl's direction and said, "This scrap-pile was working security back then and beat Megatron, which effectually turned him into what he is today. The war? Yeah, you can blame this mech right here. At one point, I was introduced to Whirl as his cellmate and gave him the beating he deserved. Nearly offlined him. Never saw him again after that." Impactor glanced at Whirl a moment and narrowed his reddish optics before he looked back to Torque, "A few cycles ago, Pax shows up with a full pardon. Says to me I'm free if I join the security forces. Here I am. And here is Whirl. And here I plan on making him pay by putting him to work to put down this war that he started, however unintentionally it might have been. I'm a no-nonsense son of a tailpipe that likes to get things done with a high-speed giddy-up and an indiscriminate amount of firepower." .... "And I like to drink. A lot." "Now, who are you?" Impactor asked Torque. Torque is... Well, she's not sure how to feel. Surprised? Not surprised? Disappointed in Whirl? The copter certainly gets an unsure look from her. But she can't place all the blame on him. Megatron may have been a pacifist before then, but deep down there was likely the intention to do what he finally did. "..Seems we're all connected to Megatron somehow." She mutters softly and looks back up at Impactor. "Name's Torque." The smaller femme smirks and sets arms akimbo. "Medic and mechanic. Used to own my own shop down in Kalis, helped a lot of your mining pals, but well, Pax came callin' too. But yeah.. I knew Megatron as well. Fought in the Forge with him.." Well, not /with/ him, but still. She shakes her head. "Anyway, yah need some solid repairs or somethin' else fixed? You come see me." She beams, but pauses and adds, thumbing her chestplate. "Oh, and I like to drink, too. A lot." Whirl can only stand there and GLARE at Impactor as he tells his story, sparing absolutely no detail and even adding his own horrible commentary to it, like the part about this blooming war being entirely HIS fault. Honestly, Whirl doesn't disagree and it's something that has troubled him ever since Megatron became A Big Deal. He catches Torque giving him that unsure look and diverts his gaze. There's a huff from the cyclops when the subject turns to drinking. "Yeah, I used to enjoy drinking. Used to love the taste. The smell. You know, when I had a mouth." He can still drink, technically, but it consists entirely of dumping liquid into a vent that feeds into his fuel tank. Completely flavorless, but at least he can still get overenergized As the door slides open, the familiar red and blue frame of Orion arrives in the training center. Even the Autobot field commander needs to use some time off now and again to get in some training. Noticing the group having a conversation, he is reluctant to interrupt, akin to the fashion of 'oh scrap the brass is here, look busy'. There is a small nod of his head towards the group as the mech makes his way over to the firearms station. Once there, he makes sure that the area is clear and safe for weapons training before he draws his pistol and starts making diliberate and percise shots downrange. Impactor rested a fist to one of his hips and just watched Torque as she explained herself. He seemed a little surprised, but not too much. More of an impressed face than anything. One of those 'Huh. Well, look at you' kind of expressions. "The Forge, huh? I saw it on the newsfeed in genpop on Garrus-1. Right before I tore the monitor off the wall and bashed some piece o' discharge over the head with it for trying to steal some lesser mech's food. They put holoprojectors in after that." "But, enough about that. I'm getting geared up to go hunt for Blurr and I'm taking Whirl with me. I could use someone of your particular talents just in case Whirl here shoots his own foot or something," Impactor jabs. "You have field experience, yeah?" And then, Impactor looks over at Whirl and said, "You are going to booze up with me and the rest of us after this shindig is over and we got this Blurr back here. Even if I have to shove a suppository of overcharged energon up your valve release to get you drunk. Then I'll get all the stories I want out of you." And then walks in the Pardoner, or so Impactor has taken to calling him. Impactor just nods back at the police captain, commander, whatever he is these days. Nothing special needs to be said. Other than, "Nice piece." Whirl gives Impactor a horrified look at the comment about shoving things into his valve release and getting him drunk. Or at least it /would/ be a horrified look if Whirl could give any looks that weren't emotionless stares. "I've got stories, alright but I don't think they're the kind you're expecting. Sorry to say my life hasn't been that exciting since prison." That's a lie, Whirl's life has been plenty exciting just not in the ways you'd think. Orion Pax's arrival just gets a blank stare from the empurata and then a dismissive scoff. He still thinks bringing Impactor onboard was a bad idea. "It's standard issue. I'm supposed to get a new one with this.. project that Zeta has going on." Pax's use of the name without the Prime is still standard to him, it hasn't fully clicked that Zeta is the new Prime. He's not even sure what he is in this new order, except maybe fire putter-outer. "I suppose I'm supposed to deliver these files to Wheeljack for him to handle the upgrade. New frame or something - Zeta won't let me look." the mech admits with a small shake of his head. "How are you getting along with the ranks?" he asks, a look cast between Whirl and Impactor, knowing of their past history as he checks the chamber of the pistol, makes sure it's clear and then pulls the magazine before offering it trigger-first to Impactor. "Fires thirteen rounds a clip, I've had it since I joined the police force. I hope it will get an upgrade as well." he admits with a slight smile. Since Whirl is pretty much always a blank stare, Orion doesn't know what's going on that mech's mind. He could be thinking about Shiftlock slathered in lubricant rolling around and saying 'Gimmie the Claws, big mech' and wanting some fifty shades of protoforming type stuff and he wouldn't know it. "Eh? You'd wanna bring me?" Torque perks at that, wholly surprised and flattered at the same time as she rubs the back of her neck. "Well I can't say I've seen the front lines, but I know my way around a fight. I'd be happy to go searchin' for this Blurr and patchin' you guys up if yah need it." And then of course he mentions drinking, to which she pumps a fist. "Now I'd definitely be up for that. Heh, I gotts see just how much of a drinker you really are, Impactor." Torque may be smaller, but she's no lightweight, that's for sure. Chuckling softly at the beratement of Whirl, Torque turns from them to spot Orion Pax entering and moving into one of the ranges. "Heya, Pax, good to see yah. You ah.. doin' alright?" Impactor gives a shrug at Pax about ranks and says, "Doing well. Falling in line, especially with the division I've been given. Getting a team together to go get this Blurr. Not much to really adapt to since prison was set up pretty much the same way." He took the pistol that was offered to him and he looked it over, gripping it. It was nice, solid, but... "A bit small for me. Good and solid, though." He spun it around, gripping it by the barrel and handing it back to Pax. "Sounds like Zeta's got big plans for you, eh? Watch your aft." "Whirl here. I let him know earlier that he earned his respect by not offlining when I scrapped him in prison. So I'm taking him out to put him to work. Speaking of which," Impactor said, looking to Whirl and made a 'come here' gesture with his fingers. "Weapons inspection," he reminded Whirl. "Show me what you got. Like I said earlier over the radio, don't bring a pellet gun to this fight. If this guy is as fast as they says he is, you're going to need at least some rocket-propelled munition." To the side, he says to Torque, "We need a good medic. And I don't see any volunteering. Somebody on-site is crucial. Probably not for us. Well.. yes, for us, but moreso for the other guy. If he makes a run for it, it might get nasty and I might have to rip his wheels off. Maybe his legs, too. And we are just going to have to set some records at Maccadam's, aren't we? We'll see who drinks who under the table!" "My aft and everyone else's. Zeta's a good mech, though. I have a feeling that things are going to make a turn around and get better." Orion offers optimistically as he gives Torque a small smile. "These cycles I'm not sure if I'm coming, going, or still in one piece." he comments with a small chuckle. "But don't worry, I'm holding together well." As he listens to the talk on Blurr, there's a glance towards Torque. "If anyone can help you get in and out of Kaon, Torque, it's Impactor. He's worked the mines there. But try not to linger once you get there. The Cons are ramping up the patrols since the attack on the Senate. It's getting harder to get the civilians out of there that want to leave." Pax admits. "And careful of anyone that wants to offer to come along with. I've heard rumors that there's some that are Decepticon sympathizers." he comments, his lips tightening into a thin line. "Blurr isn't in the Forge. Shockwave verified that much for me at least. Which means he's either somewhere and Kaon and actually escaped but is trying to mount his own rescue of Feint because he doesn't know yet or he's still in the former Security headquarters there." Hoo boy, Torque can already see Impactor's going to be a bit of a handful. "I'm all for drinkin' you under the table, but let's try not to rip bits and limbs off, alright? I don't wanna be wastin' my time puting him back together." She may say it a little jokingly, but she's serious. Anyway, over to Pax again, she nods understandingly, able to see the fatigue. "Don't you worry, Pax, we'll get the job done right, you can count on us." A warm smile of reassurance is offered, though she pauses and adds one thig to Impactor, glancing sidelong at him. "Speaking of weapons... I'm not all that good with a gun, so ah.. Hope you don't mind a brawler on the team instead." Impactor nodded at Pax and said, "Thanks for the intel. I'll go through the old tunnels and drill up into one of the lesser plazas. Should bypass the wall security. If not, then we'll just have to jump in from above and hope to not get shot. But, don't worry. We'll find him. Fast guy, blue. Easy to spot. Someone will know where he is." Impactor looks back at Torque and grinned some, "Oh don't you worry, darlin. You won't be wasting your time if anything like that happens. You just have to keep him stable for us to get him back here and then we let the other teams handle that. Your job as field medic for my team isn't hospital work. But, I'll do my best to not tear him apart. And no, I don't mind a brawler. You might figure out a way to try and catch this guy in arm's length, though. Power sled maybe? I'll let you figure it out." Impactor then glanced back to Pax and said, "If I get a good team and cohesion going, I wanna see about it being a 'thing'. Something official, if that's alright with you, boss." Whirl is not a fan of being talked about as if he's not standing RIGHT there. Torque's chuckling at the verbal smackdowns he keeps receiving from Impactor makes the cyclop huff an indignant huff. It's one thing to tease him when it's just them, it's another to tease him infront of a lady! "How about you inspect my ball bearings, you jerk! You can't just come in here and start bossing me around like you run the place!" Yes, Whirl is perfectly aware that Orion Pax is standing here watching this but hey, perfect example of why this was a bad idea and he should've ignored that pardon. "I'm not letting you inspect my weapons and I'm not helping you find Blurr. Blurr is a /monster./ Blurr killed people. Blurr manipulated.. her." Ohgodohgod no, don't think about Shiftlock. He's going to lose it if he does. "...Screw this! I got better things to do!" It's not true but it's an excuse to leave. Whirl turns his back on the group and storms away, no doubt to return to his quarters and sulk in the dark. "Honestly, the only reason I even have to deploy a team is that the IAA has too much invested in him." Pax did not like the order anymore than anyone else did. "So you're authorized to use whatever force neccessary. /However/." Orion stresses that word and the ones that follow it. "If he gives you any grief or fight back and makes it clear that he will compromise your mission - you leave his aft behind. I refuse tio sacrifice a whole team for one poster mech. The IAA can find new racers. I can't find new Auto--" And then Whirl has to go on his tirade. Pax reaches up and runs a hand over his face. But before he can speak up to stop Whirl, the former police officer gets away clean and Orion just lets out a heavy sigh. "He was just as bad when he was on the force. I'd hoped that his time in prison and such would help him come to terms with himself - but I suppose that is a wish on deaf audials." Turning his attention back to the others, Orion looks to Impactor. "I know what happened between you two in prison. And I know that you probably have feelings about the whole thing since the very mech you wanted to get revenge for is now off waging a war against everything. We've all had our moments of impulsiveness. I'm willing to grant your request, once I see some results. I do not want to immediately agree to the idea of a team for that team to fall apart..." a glance to where Whirl just stormed out. "Before it's first mission." Torque has heard all about Blurr during his racing days. Heck, she helped on the track then. So she can only hope that they'll be able to pull this off when put up against someone of his speed. While the two head mechs chat, Torque frowns as Whirl goes storming off, her hand raising to stop him before she realizes the futility in it and drops it with a sigh. "Prison's not always the best place to get over stuff.." She notes to Pax with a mild frown. "But maybe if he's out there in the action.. Maybe that'll help, I dunno." She's not Rung, so she can't do any in-depth evaluation. Rubbing her face now, she can only sigh. "Anyway, I'm all for helpin' out with this mission and I know it's gonna be tough, but I think I'm gonna need just a little drink before the day's out. Any of you mechs wanna join?" An expectant look to the both of them, though mostly to Impactor. He said he liked to drink, so she may as well make a new aquaintence while doing it. Impactor just watched Whirl ragequit after agreeing to help earlier in the day. He could not help but chuckle a bit at it and he looked back to Pax and said, "That? That's nothing. I'll straighten him out. Make him an offer he can't refuse. I understand your reluctance and wanting to make sure everything comes together clean, though. I'll get Whirl together one way or another. As for Blurr, you got it. I won't sacrifice the team either. If he gets to be too much of a handful or we start getting overrun, I'll leave his aft behind for the Decepticons." Impactor glanced back to where Whirl had gone and grinned to himself. This was going to be fun. He then looked back down to Torque and he smirked, saying, "You got it. Let's do this." He started on his way to the exit, looking back at Pax and saying, "You coming, boss?" Last time Pax went out it didn't end well, so he gives a chagrined smile for the troops even as he reloads his weapon. "I wanted to get in some practice time. You two go on ahead, and if you're going to Maccadam's, tell them to put a round on my tab. They know I'm good for it." After all, it's his home turf. Watching the two head out, he turns his attention back to the shooting range and his practice. Torque smiles happily at Pax's offer. "Thanks Pax. You're a good mech." And not just for the drinks, of which she hopes to make clear in her tone. He's a good mech in general, trying his hardest to make things right. She repects that... and respects him all the more when he buys a round. So, waving to Pax on the way out, she nods and tails along behind Impactor. Time to get wrecked! Impactor doesn't buy into the weary leader bit! Don't like it, resign! But that's Impactor for you. And walks right on out to get slagged. ++ Maccadam's Old Oil House ++ Maccadam's Old Oil House is an old and respected establishment, run by the mysterious moustached, gold-plated mech that shares the joint's name. The lights are pleasantly low, but not so low one can't see everyone clearly; pleasant music, also at a low-key, is played in the background by a Cybertronian who turns into a piano. A stage in the back is set up for various local entertainers. The oval bar is center to the oil house, and the wide floor in the dome-shaped establishment has tables and chairs suitable for all sizes and frametypes. Booths line round wall, and near the doorway are large picture windows facing the street. The floors are a deep burgundy-red, while the bar, tables and chairs are a deep polished tan. The walls are dark gray, and a series of hovering automated lights follow patrons and servers around the bar, providing individual illumination on demand. A stained-glass like dome at the top of the bar is designed to look like Cybertron, with all five moons surrounding it. The regular bartender, another moustached mech, is mostly a cool slate blue, with a bow-tie-like decoration across his 'collar'. A pair of incredibly tough, large mechs act as bouncers, as Maccadam does not allow fights in his establishment. All are welcome, regardless of frame, caste or ideology. Regular patrons to the establishment may find their picture on the menu accompanying a favorite drink. Contents: Impactor Card Table with Cards(#904VLO) Exits: O Rodion Torque is so glad to get a drink in her before all of this goes down. It's.. well, it's one of her methods of stress relief, in a way. Luckily she's smart enough not to get completely tanked, so she starts off the evening with a heavy glass of some sort of dense, deep purple engex. Not exactly the best choice if you don't wanna get super drunk, but Torque can hold her engex like a champ. "Thanks for comin' with me." She smiles over to the big mech across from her in the booth, lifting her glass a little in a 'cheers' motion. "Not easy to find a drinking buddy, I'll tell yah that. Poor Wheeljack's too lightweight." Impactor had walked through the door at Maccadam's and that alone had caused quite a stir. A fair number of mechs had stopped with their canisters lifted and stared. Some few who were around back in the day remember well the miner that had scrapped the two cadets. 'Is he really out?' one whispered. At the bar, Impactor ordered a large tankard of whatever was going around. Some bright pink glowing hypergex. A hard drink, to be sure, but nothing that would leave the heavy mech stupid. Sitting down at the booth, Impactor raised his tankard in response to Torque and said, "I can imagine. The likes that the Autobots are recruiting don't seem to be the kind to wind down. Just look at Whirl." He laughed a bit at the empurata's expense, but it was short-lived as he took his first mouthful. Torque snorts and smirks, rolling her shoulders in a shrug. "Can you blame 'em? With Megatron's not really makin' it easy for us, y'know." She can only sigh and shake her head before sipping gingerly at her drink, not ready to toss it back just yet. "I used to believe in his writings. He made good points, but.. he's just going about it in the wrong way, if you ask me. Doesn't help that I was there when it all started with Clench." This is where she finally takes a few large mouthfuls, not bothering to savor the taste, and lowers the glass to he table with a bit of a loud clack. "But not much we can do about it now except fight him." Impactor ran a finger along the edge of his tankard, staring down into the liquid and considered Torque's words. "Eh. It was in a booth like this right here at Maccadam's where it all started. I was sitting across from him when he introduced his treatise on effecting change through nonviolent means. I used to listen to his poetry. All of it. He had his head in the right place, but there'll always be a pecking order, no matter what. Ain't no such thing as utopia. Everyone's version is different. Everything is subjective. And opinions are like release valves - everyone's got one." Impactor slammed back half the tankard before he even realized it, gulping it down before he slapped it onto the table with a grunt, "I planted the slagging idea in his head. I told him it couldn't be done. Told him we should take a hundred miners geared with pathblasters and take the Senate by force. Little did I know he'd take the idea a wee bit too far. Never mentioned murdering the corrupt piles o' scrap, but he apparently got it in his head that was the best way to deal with it." He leaned back and stared out the window. "But... enough of that slag. Reminiscing and 'what ifs' don't get anything done. And they don't help the mood." Torque's antennas droop a little when listening to Impactor, a dour mood beginning to settle from the conversation. But he's right, they shouldn't dwell on it, so she does her best to bring back that ounce of a smile and waves her mug at him. "Heh, you're right, sorry about that. Guess it's just hard to believe this is happening. ..But you know what? In a way I'm glad it is." Torque pauses to take another pull from her mug before continuing. "Good or bad, I think this is how the government's hold on us might lessen. With all the focus on the Cons, no one's worrying about caste restrictions as much, so maybe this is our way of breaking away from it." Impactor leaned back and stared at Torque and considered. "Well, I always subscribed to the idea that you gotta fight for the freedom o' choice. I always thought the fight was against those in control, but... from your point o' view, I think you may be right. We needed a common enemy. Something that brought the resistance against Functionistic ideas home to those who sit high and mighty, detached from what goes on down on the ground. Only problem is - I don't know any different." Impactor drank again from his tankard, nearly finishing it off. He held it up for a waiter to come over and take it from him to refill it, offering to do the same for Torque. During this, Impactor told Torque, "If all of this blows over or if we somehow reconcile or, frag it, if we just outright /win/... I have no idea what I'd do with myself. I'm so used to the daily grind in the mines or the years sitting in the pen. Peace? Pft. Peace and I don't get along. What's a hardline mech like me supposed to do? Go join the Galactic Council security?" Torque doesn't have much left in her glass by now, so she allows the water to get her a refill. In the meantime she leans forward, elbow on the table and chin in hand. "There's an option." She muses at his likely sarcastic suggestion. "There'd be plenty of jobs out there for a mech like you, I bet. Heck, could maybe even be a prison guard or something." She gives a halfhearted shrug and glances out the window beside them, overlooking the passerbys on the street. "Not sure what I'd do either... Going back to the hospital is an option, but.. I think I'd wanna reopen my old clinic. Help those who can't afford anything again." Impactor stares at her as she looks outside. His reddish optics gleam while he says, "You have a civil profession. Something that cannot be automated. You have something that you can be proud of and share in the light with others. Me? I got the pit. The darkness. The drilling, the swing of the pickaxe. I envy you." And then the waiter brought their drinks. Impactor took his and he drank a small mouthful then and leaned his head back to stare up at the ceiling above. His mohawk scraped the back of some mech's head behind him in the booth next over, causing the mech to shift position and stare daggers at them. "But... it ain't all that bad. Nothing like a honest day's work, I guess. The winding down at the end of the day, but... I think I am going to have much more ... fun, I guess? ... with what this war is going to provide. An atmosphere to get a team of people together who trust one another and are willing to do what it takes and, when the time comes to wind down, they find easy company amongst themselves." Torque's optics flick back and she can only offer a soft, thoughtful smile. "Never been down in the mines, myself, but I know what you mechs go through down there. The miners made up most of my patients since the government medics they sent down there didn't give two frags if a mech lived or died. Get injured? You're pretty much dead already." It's sad, but it's true. "So I helped 'em out when I could, fixed up their tools, and tuned up their altmodes when they got worn down. But the stories they told me... I can see why civilian life would be hard for a mech like you." A more exuberant smile slowly begins to light her features when he goes on to speak of a team and she nods, sitting up straight. "It'll be a team no one forgets, we'll make sure of that. The Autobots are really gonna need it now with what we're up against, but you can be damn sure we're gonna wreck those Cons!" Impactor thinks a moment while he stares up at the ceiling. "Wreck.... wreck.. hm," he considers. That word is going to stick with him for a few days. Oh, how the seeds have been sown. He then lifts his head up to look back at her and grins, "Does that mean you're going in for the long haul? You sure you up for it? It's gonna take a lot o' guts and no small amount o' crazy. Which is why I gotta get through to Whirl somehow. I want to see him in the field. I made a promise to myself. If Whirl gets through this and does good, I'm gonna stop pickin' on him. He's earned my respect, but he ain't earned to be free of his past just yet. If he proves himself, though, I'll let it all go. And do my best to see him uplifted into something respectable. Because, honestly? I don't think he's going to find respect anywhere but in a group of crazies doing the impossible." Impactor drinks another big mouthful and he then tilts his tankard towards Torque as if pointing it at her. "And you. You get by alright and I'll see you get all the purpose you ever gonna need fighting the good fight and patchin' up those who do likewise. Your own medbay and mechanic shop in whatever base we get. All yours." "Something tells me I'm gonna end up being the sanest one on the team. Then again, someone's gotta keep you mechs in line." Torque smiles wide and chuckles, though it mellows out at talk of Whirl. The mech's been through a lot and she can only imagine what's going on in that head of his.. But who knows, maybe this really will be good for him. He does like conflict, after all. "I'll get by just fine, don't you worry." She offers a friendly wink and grins. "You mechs are gonna need a strong medic to wallop you good when you start complaining about your injuries, so you came to the right femme." She may be playing around, but Impactor does surprise her with the promise of her own medbay and workshop, making her playful demeanor melt into something more.. genuine. "..Thanks, Impactor. I think that'd be one of the nicest things someone's done for me in a while. It'll be nice to have a little place I can call my own again." Impactor grunted a bit and said, "Whirl's gonna have to get past his demons and the only thing I know that can help with that is to cut him loose in a legal way. And the only way I can think about that is by getting a hard team of expendables together to do the missions that are considered lost causes. It'll let him vent whatever he's got pent up in his chassis." Impactor slugs back the last of his drink and slides the tankard to the side before he folds his hands together in a look of seriousness at Torque. "You got my respect. You got a skill that few have and many need. You're going to need all the help you can get, the equipment to do your job right and room enough to explore and expand your skillset. You may be joking, but you're also right. We /are/ going to need a good medic to keep us together and someone with at least a finger full of sanity to slap us around when we go too far off the scale." Impactor taps his fingers lightly against the tabletop and says, "If things take a turn for the worse in this war, I have a feeling we're going to be fielded. A lot." Torque is usually all smiles, but she can't help looking down into her mug as he speaks, her expression still holding the hint of that smile, though worried thoughts overlap it. She hates thinking about the actual horrors of war. The destruction and carnage it can bring.. But she has to face facts and see the big picture in that she'll have to learn to deal with scary things like this. Slowly she nods at the end of his speech and finally looks up, locking amber gaze onto his. There's a determination in their fiery glow that manifests further in the stern nod she gives. "You can count on me to get the job done right, Impactor. I'll keep you mechs on your feet and haul your afts off the field if I have to, I promise." Impactor nods back in earnesty. He then pulls out of subspace a shanix chit and configures it for a certain amount before he locks it and leaves it on the table to pay for their drinks. "Just one thing. You may be a brawler, but I'm going to need you to at least get good with a handgun. Not all battles are up close and personal. Trench wars are a lot of slugthrowing. So get some practice in from time to time, eh?" Impactor rose to his feet then and he looked down at Torque, telling her, "You're alright, kid. See you later on." He then turned out, giving a wave over to owner of the place, Maccadam's himself. And then he was gone. Get better with a gun? Oi, that's going to be interesting... But still, better to have small sidearm than nothing at all. Torque sees his point, so she nods once more and smirks. "You got it. I'll be in the training room soon as I can." She can at least do that much for Impactor with hat he's promising her. And he even pays for the drinks! Unexpected, but very much appreciated if the happy little smile on her face is anything to go by. "Catch yah later, Impactor. And thanks for the drinks, I needed it." Offering a small wave, Torque returns to her drink once he's gone and smirks. "Wonder what I've gotten myself into this time... Ah well, it's gonna be interesting, that's for sure." And with that said, the medic settles in and enjoys the rest of her engex.